WHAT HAPPENED ON 15th January 2001?

14th January 2001

What People were saying on

"Actors with political views are a dime a dozen."

Hollywood star Tom Hanks

"I want to succeed in America where unlike Britain they do not regard ambition as the same as eating babies."

Comedian Eddie Izzard

"I was brought up to be a sensual puritan."

Baroness Castle former Labour minister.

"Job opportunities for those with earning disabilities."

Headline in The Preston Reporter

15th January 2001

INTERNATIONAL AID ARRIVES IN SALVADOR

International aid for the victims of El Salvador's earthquake has begun to arrive in the country as the death toll climbed to 500. Britain has committed £600 000 of aid and will consider requests for more while the EC is contributing £1.2m. Medical staff troops & search teams from around the world are now at the scene as the hunt for survivors goes on President Francisco Flores has appealed for 3 000 coffins to be donated.

15th January 2001

ENTREPRENEURS ARE "MOSTLY MIDDLE-AGED"

Britain's entrepreneurs do not match the popular image of a 20-something at the helm of a dotcom business according to a report. The average entrepreneur is aged 45 & is almost as likely to be in charge of a company in the manufacturing or retail sector as one on the internet. The report also showed that only 8% of the nation's entrepreneurs are women. Ernst & Young quizzed 600 people for its Entrepreneur of the Year report.

14th January 2001

URANIUM WEAPONS SAVE LIVES SAYS HOON

Banning depleted uranium weapons would endanger the lives of British forces Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has said. The weapons had saved lives in the Gulf War & Balkans conflicts he told Sky News's Sunday with Adam Boulton. "The reason why we will continue to use these weapons is that they are astonishingly effective and... are protecting troops in time of war." Some Nato countries have blamed DU for cancer deaths among Balkans servicemen.

15th January 2001

INTERNATIONAL AID ARRIVES IN SALVADOR

International aid for the victims of El Salvador's earthquake has begun to arrive in the country as the death toll climbed to 500. Britain has committed £600 000 of aid and will consider requests for more while the EC is contributing £1.2m. Medical staff troops & search teams from around the world are now at the scene as the hunt for survivors goes on President Francisco Flores has appealed for 3 000 coffins to be donated.

15th January 2001

POLICE INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE DRUGS DEATH

Police are investigating the death of a young person at a school in Ayrshire which is thought to be drugs-related. The teenager thought to be a boy attended the Kerelaw Residential School He was taken to hospital by ambulance in the early hours of this morning but later died. He had just returned from weekend leave. Strathclyde police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the death. A post-mortem is expected to be carried out today.

14th January 2001

SHORT WARNS PARTY AGAINST COMPLACENCY

Labour's activists must mobilise to ensure the party gains a second term in office a senior minister has urged. In a speech to the party's eastern region campaign forum in Luton Beds International Development Secretary Clare Short warned against complacency. "We should remember the 1970 election ` when everyone thought we would win but we lost " said Ms Short. She said "dishonest" Tories were trying to encourage a low election turnout.

15th January 2001

INTERNATIONAL AID ARRIVES IN SALVADOR

International aid for the victims of El Salvador's earthquake has begun to arrive in the country as the death toll climbed to 500. Britain has committed £600 000 of aid and will consider requests for more while the EC is contributing £1.2m. Medical staff troops & search teams from around the world are now at the scene as the hunt for survivors goes on President Francisco Flores has appealed for 3 000 coffins to be donated.

15th January 2001

PUPILS SENT HOME AT UNDERSTAFFED SCHOOL

A comprehensive school has been forced to make drastic cuts to its timetable because of a teacher shortage. St Mary's High School in Cheshunt Herts will send home puils aged 11 12 and 13 for one day every two weeks. The changes will also see 14-year-olds miss an hour's tuition twice a week. The school failed to fill three posts despite contacting 18 supply agences. Unions claim Britain is facing a national teacher shortage crisis.

14th January 2001

IRAN'S FURTHER HONOUR FOR SADAT KILLER

The man who assassinated Egypt's President Anwar Sadat has been honoured with a huge new mural in Tehran. The picture shows Khalid al-Islambuli behind prison bars holding a copy of the Koran with the slogan "I killed Egypt's pharoah" above his head. The late assassin already has a Tehran street named after him. Relations between Iran & Egypt have moved closer in recent years but have always stumbled on Tehran's insistence on honouring the president's killer.

15th January 2001

INTERNATIONAL AID ARRIVES IN SALVADOR

International aid for the victims of El Salvador's earthquake has begun to arrive in the country as the death toll climbed to 500. Britain has committed £600 000 of aid and will consider requests for more while the EC is contributing £1.2m. Medical staff troops & search teams from around the world are now at the scene as the hunt for survivors goes on President Francisco Flores has appealed for 3 000 coffins to be donated.

15th January 2001

PORTUGAL RE-ELECTS PRESIDENT SAMPAIO

The Portuguese president Socialist Jorge Sampaio has been elected for a second term in office. As expected Mr Sampaio scored a clear victory over his main challenger Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral of the centre-right Social Democrats. With the count almost complete Mr Sampaio had about 55% of the vote. The election was characterised by a low turnout with almost half of those eligible failing to vote.

14th January 2001

MID EAST PEACE TALKS SUDDENLY CANCELLED

Hopes for progress on Middle East peace were dashed today when the Palestinians cancelled a meeting with the Israelis. Talks had been planned with Israeli ex-chief of staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak. Yesterday in Gaza both sides agreed to continue trying to close the gap over key issues ` sovereignty of Jerusalem and the future of Palestinian refugees. Those talks were led by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat & former Israeli premier Shimon Peres.

15th January 2001

INTERNATIONAL AID ARRIVES IN SALVADOR

International aid for the victims of El Salvador's earthquake has begun to arrive in the country as the death toll climbed to 500. Britain has committed £600 000 of aid and will consider requests for more while the EC is contributing £1.2m. Medical staff troops & search teams from around the world are now at the scene as the hunt for survivors goes on President Francisco Flores has appealed for 3 000 coffins to be donated.

15th January 2001

PUPILS SENT HOME AT UNDERSTAFFED SCHOOL

A comprehensive school has been forced to make drastic cuts to its timetable because of a teacher shortage. St Mary's High School in Cheshunt Herts will send home puils aged 11 12 and 13 for one day every two weeks. The changes will also see 14-year-olds miss an hour's tuition twice a week. The school failed to fill three posts despite contacting 18 supply agences. Unions claim Britain is facing a national teacher shortage crisis.

14th January 2001

MINISTER REJECTS URANIUM CRITICISM

Germany's Rudolf Scharping has defended his country's handling of the depleted uranium ammunition scandal. Germany was the first country to check its troops in Kosovo as soon as it had learnt of the use of the ammunition in the summer of 1999 he said. Scientific & medical tests showed no elevated risk of radiation exposure he insisted in a TV interview. Yet despite referring to a "hysteria syndrome" over the issue he said he wanted the ammunition scrapped.

15th January 2001

INTERNATIONAL AID ARRIVES IN SALVADOR

International aid for the victims of El Salvador's earthquake has begun to arrive in the country as the death toll climbed to 500. Britain has committed £600 000 of aid and will consider requests for more while the EC is contributing £1.2m. Medical staff troops & search teams from around the world are now at the scene as the hunt for survivors goes on President Francisco Flores has appealed for 3 000 coffins to be donated.

15th January 2001

DEPLETED URANIUM WARNING ISSUED IN 1991

The Government was warned 10 years ago that depleted uranium shells used in the Gulf War could be a health risk to UK troops it has been disclosed. The dangers were highlighted in a 1991 UK Atomic Energy Authority report. The study said that the total amount of DU used by the UK & US in the war could theoretically kill 500 000 people Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has said depleted uranium ammunition will remain available for use by British tanks.

14th January 2001

SALVADOREANS DIG FOR EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS

President Francisco Flores has said his government s priority is to save those buried under rubble following the earthquake which struck on Saturday. "We have declared a national emergency and a state of disaster which allows us all the resources we need to face this emergency " he said. "At the moment the priority is concentrated on those who are buried " he told Spanish radio. Latest figures say over 200 died in the quake but many more are still buried.

15th January 2001

INTERNATIONAL AID ARRIVES IN SALVADOR

International aid for the victims of El Salvador's earthquake has begun to arrive in the country as the death toll climbed to 500. Britain has committed £600 000 of aid and will consider requests for more while the EC is contributing £1.2m. Medical staff troops & search teams from around the world are now at the scene as the hunt for survivors goes on President Francisco Flores has appealed for 3 000 coffins to be donated.

15th January 2001

CRIME VICTIMS GET A SAY: WALLACE'S PLAN

Victims will be allowed to have more of a say in the trials of their attackers under plans outlined by the Justice Minister Jim Wallace. Crime victims will be able to spell out the trauma they have experienced in detail in a statement to the court. Mr Wallace stressed this did not mean victims would have a say in sentencing but it would ensure that the victims' experiences were properly recognised. Mr Wallace wants to learn lessons from cases like the recent Chhokar murder.

14th January 2001

GIBRALTARUS skipper Steve Fosset has

pulled out of The Race the round-the- world catamaran competition after his boat PlayStation suffered faults & had to make a stopover. TAIWAN Visits by tourists from mainland China are to be allowed for the first time in over 50 years. The new policy will see up to 500 000 Chinese tourists visiting the island from July. SWAZILAND At least 28 people have died in a bus crash in Mbabane on the main highway to the Lubombo region after two tyres burst & the driver lost control

15th January 2001

INTERNATIONAL AID ARRIVES IN SALVADOR

International aid for the victims of El Salvador's earthquake has begun to arrive in the country as the death toll climbed to 500. Britain has committed £600 000 of aid and will consider requests for more while the EC is contributing £1.2m. Medical staff troops & search teams from around the world are now at the scene as the hunt for survivors goes on President Francisco Flores has appealed for 3 000 coffins to be donated.

15th January 2001

SEOUL AND TOKYO IN WORLD CUP 2002 ROW

A dispute has broken out between the two countries due to host the finals of the football World Cup next year. South Korean organisers say Japan has given itself top billing in promotions for the tournament despite a 1996 accord pledging precedence to Korea. Seoul has made a formal protest to Fifa saying the issue could damage relations Japan says the accord was unofficial. The finals are the first to be held in Asia & the first to be co-hosted.